M55C Pellet Mode

[NYBurner]

So I tried a little experiment and ran the stove in "normal pellet" mode for a day. I did this because in heat setting 4 or 5 I get a tall flame but as it goes up into the heat exchangers it drops a steady "line" of black soot/smoke on the towards the vent side. Im speculating that there is diminishing oxygen as the flame extends up and none in the heat exchange tube region. So I wanted to try and have the agitator turn more frequently in order to break up a burning pile, reduce the flame height and allow me to run a higher heat call without an obnoxiously tall flame. For reference I am burning barefoots, and am running an insert without an OAK (yet).

So after 24"ish" hours of burning I noticed there was a LOT more ash clump to either side of the burn pot being pushed out by the agitator rod....as expected. What was unexpected is following. Glowing red embers in the ash bin and burn pot and a LOT more ash in general....everywhere. I will say the stove was pumping HOT though in this mode, as in burn your skin air temps coming out of the exchangers. Also there was a noticeable amount of carbon buildup in the burn pot liner.

By comparison if I shutdown for a cleaning after running in "premium pellet" mode, there have NEVER been glowing red embers or anywhere near the amount of ash. Rarely any carbon buildup in the burn pot liner.

So I wanted to share and see if anyone else has had a similar experience and maybe an explanation for the differences? According to threads I've read regarding running in different modes (seems most everyone runs in premium pellet mode) the only real difference is agitator frequency....feed rates are listed the same, but without a doubt it was pumping noticeably more heat and making a lot bigger mess.

 

[Lake Girl]

When you change fuel mode, do you know exactly what changes? Agitator frequency you mentioned; how about combustion blower speed?

 

[NYBurner]

Im not sure and that why I posted this....perhaps someone has new information that was not available in previous threads. The only information I was able to find was that feed rate (off time delay) is identical for premium and regular pellet mode....nothing regarding convection or exhaust blower speeds.

Im assuming the extra HOT may be a result of red hot "coals" sitting in the burn pot and ash pan adding to heat output over time?? Not sure, but it was a noticeable difference albeit with a LOT more ash.

 

[vinny11950]

Premium mode turns the agitator less frequently, so the pellets stay in the burn pot longer, and are mostly used/burnt up. In the other modes (regular and multi fuel), the agitator runs more often, so it will push out some pellets that are not completely used up yet.

Not sure why you would get more heat out of regular mode than premium. It should work the other way around, but the difference would be very small.

There are older threads with tables listing the exact frequency of the agitator cycles in the different modes, but you would have to look for them. Jay (another member) used to post that information when required.

Good luck.